"Local Youth Leaving in Droves"
Councilor Youngae Yoon Raises Concerns in Written Inquiry
On August 22, Daegu City Councilor Youngae Yoon (People Power Party, Nam-gu 2nd District) strongly criticized the complete abolition of the residency restriction requirement for civil servant and public sector recruitment, a policy introduced by former Mayor Hong Joonpyo, through a written administrative inquiry. She called for a comprehensive review of the current system.
Councilor Yoon pointed out, "While other cities and provinces still maintain residency restriction systems, Daegu has abolished them, thereby eliminating what was virtually the only institutional foundation for protecting local youth. This is not simply a matter of administrative procedure reform; it deprives local youth of opportunities to enter public service. Although it may appear to be a fair system at first glance, in reality, it creates a structure that intensifies reverse discrimination against local youth."
After analyzing data received from Daegu City, Councilor Yoon found that since the abolition of the residency restriction, the pass rate for young applicants from outside Daegu in the Daegu Transportation Corporation recruitment exam in the second half of last year was 39.5%. This year, the pass rate for the Daegu Transportation Corporation was 28.8%. In the first half of this year, the pass rate for young applicants from outside Daegu was 38.5% in the Daegu Urban Development Corporation exam, 28.4% in the Daegu Facilities Management Corporation exam, and 47% in the Daegu City civil servant career competitive examination.
It is known that, except for Seoul, 16 metropolitan governments nationwide have residency restriction regulations for civil servant exams.
Yoon stated, "After Daegu imposed residency restrictions on civil servant exams, job opportunities decreased, and local youth have been leaving Daegu in large numbers. Maintaining this system while neglecting such reverse discrimination and structural imbalance against youth will inevitably result in policy failure."
According to Daegu City's net migration statistics, in the first quarter of 2025, 1,976 people in their 20s left Daegu, and in the second quarter, 1,414, totaling 3,390 young people who have left the city.
Councilor Yoon analyzed that the lack of mechanisms to protect local talent in public sector recruitment and the insufficient settlement conditions for incoming youth within the region have further accelerated the outflow of young people.
Youngae Yoon stated, "Behind the pretext of fair recruitment, effective measures to protect local youth have disappeared, and the current recruitment system requires an immediate policy shift. Daegu City must comprehensively review the current system and establish effective measures to protect local youth."
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